Numerical simulation of blood pulsatile flow in a stenosed carotid artery using different rheological models

Symmetrical 30-60% stenosis in a common carotid artery under unsteady flow condition for Newtonian and six non-Newtonian viscosity models are investigated numerically. Results show power-law model produces higher deviations, in terms of velocity and wall shear stress in comparison with other models while generalized power-law and modified-Casson models are more prone to Newtonian state. Comparing separation length of recirculation region at different critical points of cardiac cycle confirms the necessity of considering blood flow in unsteady mode. Increasing stenosis intensity causes flow patterns more disturbed downstream of the stenosis and WSS appear to develop remarkably at the stenosis throat. (c) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.